Thousands of lawyers have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reconsider plans to reduce jury trials in England and Wales, describing the proposals as 'unpopular, untested and poorly evidenced'. In a letter organised by the Bar Council, 3,200 legal professionals—including 300 senior barristers and a former director of public prosecutions—warned that removing juries for cases with sentences up to three years could lead to miscarriages of justice.
The government faces a significant backbench revolt, with over 65 Labour MPs thought to be considering voting against the bill. Justice Secretary David Lammy failed to convince Labour backbencher Karl Turner, who previously coordinated a letter from 38 MPs opposing the plans. Turner stated he had 'absolutely not' been convinced after meeting Lammy on Monday night.
Lammy argued that the bill is necessary to tackle a court backlog that has nearly doubled from 38,000 cases in 2019 to almost 80,000. He warned that without the changes, criminals would walk free, and victims would suffer further. However, critics like shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy called it 'an unacceptable attack on an ancient right', while former post office operator Jo Hamilton, wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal, said the plans would 'further erode trust in the establishment'.
The Bar Council's letter emphasised that juries did not cause the crisis, citing the Leveson review which pointed to chronic underfunding. The Conservatives are expected to force a vote to block the bill's second reading, though the full scale of the rebellion may not be clear until later stages.
